Sunburst checked the door a second time, just to make sure it was properly closed. He doubted anyone would come, but it was better to be sure no one would just walk in if they did happen to be looking for him. And hopefully, in the event a real emergency broke out right then, Twilight or Starlight wouldn't teleport directly where he was.
Sufficiently satisfied, he turned away and walked to his desk. He'd made himself some tea, and it had cooled down just enough to still be warm, but not too much so, while he'd busied himself preparing the room. Not that he'd had much to do on that, actually, just moving around a couple things. But he'd taken it slow. Really, it was more about mentally preparing himself.
And as he sat down at his desk and took the mug in his hooves, he decided he was as ready as he was going to be. Waiting further wouldn't have helped, if anything it might have made things worse. He would have gotten second thoughts about the whole thing, probably called it off until another day, maybe he'd have simply wasted enough time in indecision until he was left with too little to get things done.
No more waiting then. He closed his eye, took a slow sip from his tea, and focused on something. A memory, for the time being. He would find other ways, more proper ones.
He opened his eyes.
The coat was orange, this time. A little lighter than his mother's, a little darker than his own. The eyes a blueish purple, somewhere between Trixie's and Starlight's. A unicorn, maybe a little bit taller than average, the mane and tail short and straight and the same colour as rust, with a streak of pink-purple through them that made him think of Cadence more than anything else. But the cutie mark was still the same as always.
And so was her voice. "Hello," she said. "I'm Starshine Flicker." She smiled at him, her head tilting slightly to the side. "It's been a while," she said after a moment of silent contemplation.
Sunburst slowly set his mug down on the desk, the way it clicked against the wood betraying the nervousness still stirring beneath his calm demeanour. "It has," he agreed. A moment more of silence, the two of them looking at each other and smiling, though he wasn't sure why he was smiling and if he wanted to in the first place. Then, with just a hint of fear, he asked, "Did you miss me?"
Starshine seemed to ponder the question for a bit. Her smile was still there, but it was a little less vibrant. Not faked, or hiding sadness. Sunburst wouldn't even have gone far enough to call it bittersweet. But just a touch marred by something else, yes. Some knowledge behind it, that carried something else besides just happiness. "I could answer that both ways, actually." She blinked once, like any regular pony might. "What would you rather I say?"
Sunburst looked in her eyes, breathing in and out slowly. "I'm not sure."